Systems and methods for controlling personal communications

ABSTRACT

A method for using a mobile software application for deleting or recalling unwanted messages on a mobile device before it is delivered to the intended recipient is provided. The software application operates by running on top of the resident messaging application on the mobile device. For example, the application caches the message for specified amount of time and thereby sets a length of delay. The user has the application on the mobile device and the message is composed on the OST application and the application software keeps the message in a buffer for a predetermined amount of time after the user selects to send the message such that if the user regrets sending the message, it can be deleted or recalled before the message leaves the mobile device. Other advantages that are understood from the present disclosure will further be apparent.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.61/949,643, filed on Mar. 7, 2014 and U.S. Provisional Application No.62/096,409, filed on Dec. 23, 2014, the disclosures of which areexpressly incorporated herein by reference thereto.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a method ofa wireless messaging application such as SMS and MMS used on mobiledevices, and more particularly, to a method that allows the user toinitiate a delete or recall command of an unwanted message before it isfinally delivered to the intended recipient.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Short Message Service (SMS) is a standardized communication servicetypically used in mobile communication systems but may also be used innon-mobile communication devices. Using standardized communicationsprotocols, SMS allows for the interchange of short text messages betweencommunication devices. SMS text messaging has become the most widelyused data application on the planet with 2.4 billion active users, or74% of all mobile phone subscribers sending and receiving text messageson their communication devices.

As another example of some of the enhancements introduced to basic SMSservice, Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) is a telecommunicationsstandard for sending SMS messages which include multimedia objects(images, audio, video, rich text). MMS is an extension of the SMSstandard, allowing for longer message lengths. In addition, MMS mayutilize Wireless Application Protocols (WAP) to display the content.MMS' most popular use is found in the sending of photographs fromcamera-equipped handsets, although it is also popular as a method ofdelivering ringtones as well.

With over half of U.S. mobile consumers owning mobile devices such asi-phones and smart-phones and the like, the advent of media-richtechnologies on mobile devices enable sense of liberation for users ofsuch devices, yet such users continue to face inherent problems.Research has shown that smartphone users at the age of 18-24 send anaverage of 2,002 text messages and receive an additional 1,831 textmessages per month. Text-based communications such as, for example,texting, e-mail, instant messaging, and text-based social media (e.g.Facebook™) and/or micro-blogging (e.g. Twitter™), has become anincreasingly popular form of human interaction with the advancement ofsocial media. Though these ever evolving media technologies haveincreased human interaction and communication, they do not come withouttheir inherent drawbacks and disadvantages. Oftentimes people sendmessages that either may have significant amount of typos, mistakes andthe like, or they later regret for one reason or another that theywished the message could be recalled or deleted somehow. Currently thereexists no mobile software application in the market that lets a user toundo a created message just after it has been sent, but before it isdelivered to the recipient. As such, there is a need in the prior artfor software applications installed on mobile devices that can fulfillthis role. Preferably, the mobile software application installed on themobile device would be able to delete, or recall an unwanted message,before the message is delivered to the intended recipient.

Thus in view of the above, given the lack of existence andimplementation of mobile software applications that allow seamlessdeletion or recalling of regrettable and unwanted messages reaching theintended recipient, there is still an unmet need in the prior art forsuch software mobile applications. As such, the presently disclosedembodiments of the invention now provide such solutions, and provideother advantages that are understood from the present disclosure.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, a method for using a mobileapplication entitled, On Second Thought (OST), for deleting or recallingan unwanted Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) and Short MessagingServices (SMS) message on a mobile device before the message isdelivered to the intended recipient is provided. The OST applicationoperates by running on top of a resident messaging application on themobile device. A user of the OST application can choose to cache amessage he or she sent for a predetermined amount of time set by theuser, which is equivalent to a time delay for sending the message and istypically between 0 and 60 seconds. Only the user who wants to senddelayed messages needs to install the OST application on the mobiledevice and the recipients of the delayed messages do not need to havethe OST application installed on their mobile devices in order toreceive the delayed messages or respond to the delayed messages. Themessage is composed on the resident messaging application and the OSTapplication keeps the message in a buffer for a predetermined amount oftime after the user hits the “send” button on the OST application. Thisfeature allows the user to delete or recall the message he or she justsent within the predetermined amount of time if he or she regretssending the message. Preferably, after the user selects to send, thepredetermined period is the only time that the user can delete orretrieve the message for further editing. During the predeterminedamount of time, the user can swipe the sent message to retrieve anddelete the message. Once the message is sent, and before it reaches therecipient, the sent message would appear in the conversation screen witha timer showing how much time is left before it is transmitted to therecipient or before it leaves the mobile device on which the OSTapplication is installed. After clicking on the “send” button, the OSTapplication would also indicate the status of the sent message aspending. Once the predetermined amount of time is up, the sent messageis delivered to the recipient and the OST application changes the statusof the sent message from pending to delivered. The buffer may be asoftware buffer built into the OST application or a memory housed on themobile device being utilized by the OST application.

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the OST applicationmay further have a “curfew” feature. The “curfew” feature allows theuser to set another predetermined amount of time during which the sentmessage is embargoed and after which the embargoed sent message isdelivered only if the user confirms delivering the embargoed sentmessage to the recipient. The another predetermined amount of time maybe longer than the predetermined amount of time.

In some embodiments, a software application (module, plugin, tool, app,etc.) is implemented for communication with others using the creation(by way of editing) of individual messages, transmitting messages overcommunication network or channel, and receiving messages over thecommunication network or channel into the software application forviewing. The user interface and communication type can be a chat typeform of interface and communication (e.g., subsequent messages areautomatically populated with destination information in the messagechain to form a conversation). The application can be an overlay on topof the actual application that receives and transmits the messages(e.g., over text message software on a phone) or could be integratedinto that application. The user interface can include an interactivecommand selectable by the current user to send the message inputted inthe mobile device by the user. The application is configured on themobile device and adapts the mobile device and related applications suchthat in response to the selection of the send option, the application(or system) temporarily holds the message from being transmitted to theidentified recipient of the message while the displaying the content ofthe message to the user for further inspection. The application alsodisplays an indicator such as a graphical indicator communicating to theuser that the message is in this temporary hold (while the mobile deviceis operatively connected to the communication network or channel forcarrying the message). During this time, the application only permitsthe user option to select to delete the message (delete the messageduring the temporary hold) or retrieve the message for further editing.If desired, other limited capabilities may be made available also duringthis time period. The application also displays a timer or countdownindicator that visually communicates how much time is left in thetemporary hold before the message is transmitted, delivered, orotherwise made available to the intended recipient. The time periodspecified for the temporary hold period can be specified by the userthrough the application settings or can be a fixed period specified bythe software provider of the application. The application on the mobiledevice is configured to display message itself and make the message(e.g., message bubble that contains the message) interactive byproviding the capability for the user to apply one or more gestures tothe message that apply an operation to the sent message while it is intemporary hold such as to swipe in one direction to delete or swipe in adifferent direction to retrieve. When a delete command is selected, theapplication deletes the “sent” message from the mobile device before itis transmitted over the communication network or channel to the intendedrecipient. When a retrieve command is selected, the applicationretrieves the message from the temporary hold and blocks the messagefrom being sent. It also displays the message for further editing orrevision by the user.

The application can be an added layer that when installed integrateswith the communications software on the mobile device. For example, itcould be installed as an App from an app store and when installed it canact as if it is your text message software on the mobile device and inso doing uses the preexisting text message application on the mobiledevice to actually send and receive messages.

If desired, in some embodiments, a configuration may exist thattemporarily holds the software outside the mobile device such as bytemporarily holding the software on an external server or service. Inthis embodiment, the message for example would be sent from the mobiledevice to the server and the temporary hold including timer and visualindicator of hold would be displayed on the user′ mobile device to allowretrieval or deletion. In this variation, the application would thendelete or retrieve the message in a similar way from the server.

If desired, messages can be personal communication messages in which auser communicates to other persons using the personal mobile device andcommunications words, images, or video to their personal contacts. Themessage will typically include a destination address of an individual orgroup. In some embodiments, other types of personal communications canbe applied such as communications that transfer money betweenindividuals, in which the transmission of the transfer messages resultsin the operation of a financial transfer in accordance with the specificdetails of the transfer message. (e.g., if directed to the wrong person,the money would go to the wrong person).

As generally described herein, software implemented on a mobile devicecarries out the interactions or processes described herein as result ofthe implementation of the software on the device and its use ofpotentially other software or related hardware on the device.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a method formessage communication management of personal mobile wireless devices byusing an interactive mobile software application is described. Themethod comprises implementing the interactive mobile softwareapplication on a personal mobile wireless device, wherein theapplication implements a process comprising: providing an interactiveuser interface on the device for entering and sending messages; and inresponse to the user entering a message and sending the entered message,holding the entered message back from being sent from the personalmobile wireless device and over a communication network for apredetermined period of time that permits the user to recall or deletethe message before it is transmitted over the communication network.

In one embodiment, the mobile software application is a mobile softwareapplication that is installed over a message communication applicationthat receives and transmits messages.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises implementing interactiveuser preference settings that allows individual users to select recallor curfew settings.

In one embodiment, the method further comprises a curfew setting, thecurfew setting comprises a locator in which the locator alerts themobile software application so as to send a notification to the user toturn on the curfew settings if the locator notices that the user hasspent longer than a predetermined amount of time in a location, whereinthe locator receives location information from a GPS or other sources.

In one embodiment, the method further implements the interactive mobilesoftware application to manage SMS and MMS messaging on the mobilewireless device.

In one embodiment, the interactive mobile software application is anapplication that is installed by the user and the installation makes theinteractive mobile software application the default application formessaging and replying an existing SMS/MMS messaging application.

In one embodiment, the interactive mobile software application holds themessage in a buffer before sending.

In one embodiment, the interactive mobile software application displaysthe message in the window to the user as if it has been sent but withdesignation to show it is being held back.

In accordance with another embodiment of the present invention, a systemfor message communication management of personal mobile wireless devicesis described. The system comprises a mobile software applicationinstalled on a mobile wireless device, the application comprising aninteractive user interface on the mobile wireless device for enteringand sending message; and a buffer, in response to a user entering amessage and sending the entered message, holding the entered messageback from being sent from the mobile wireless device and over acommunication network for a predetermined period of time that permitsthe user to recall or delete the message before it is transmitted overthe communication network.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, anon-transitory computer readable medium storing an application causing acomputer to execute message delay process is described. The messagedelay process comprises receiving an entered message from an interactivemobile software application installed on a personal mobile wirelessdevice; and in response to a user sending the entered message, holdingthe entered message back from being sent from the personal mobilewireless device and over a communication network for a predeterminedperiod of time that permits the user to recall or delete the messagebefore it is transmitted over the communication network.

In accordance with yet another embodiment of the present invention, asystem for message communication management of personal mobile wirelessdevices is described. The system comprises a mobile software applicationon a personal mobile wireless device, wherein the application comprisingintegrated contacts comprising contacts gathered from different chatplatforms, a predetermined amount of time set by a user of the personmobile wireless device to delay a message sent on the mobile softwareapplication and to delete or recall the sent message during thepredetermined amount of time, and another predetermined amount of timeset by the user to delay the sent message and to confirm delivery of thesent message to a recipient after the another predetermined amount oftime expires.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The nature and various advantages of the present invention will becomemore apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description,taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which likereference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 depicts an exemplary schematic interface representation of anembodiment of the OST application used on a mobile device.

FIGS. 2A and 2B depict exemplary schematic interface representations ofan embodiment of the OST application deleting a message beforedelivering to the recipient.

FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary schematic interface representation of anembodiment of the OST application recalling a message before deliveringto the recipient.

FIGS. 4 and 5 depict one embodiment of the curfew feature of the OSTapplication.

FIG. 6 depicts one embodiment of a mobile device.

FIGS. 7A-7G depict one embodiment of the OST application integrating andcommunicating with contacts from different chat platforms.

FIG. 8 shows one embodiment of a gradient counter or timer moving acrossboth the text and background of the message.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In this respect there has thus been outlined rather broadly the moreimportant features of the instant invention, in order that the detaileddescription thereof that follows may be better understood, and in orderthat the present contribution to the art may be better appreciated.

There are additional features of the instant invention, which will bedescribed hereinafter, and which will form the subject matter of theclaims appended hereto.

Further in relation to this, before explaining at least the preferredembodiments of the invention in greater detail, it is to be understoodthat the invention is not limited in its application to the details ofconstruction and to the arrangements of the components set forth in thefollowing description, or illustrated in the appended Figures. Theinvention is capable of other embodiments, and of being practiced andcarried out in a plurality of different ways. Also it is to beunderstood that the terminology used herein is for the purpose ofdescription and should not be regarded as a limiting factor.

As a preliminary matter, it will readily be understood by one havingordinary skill in the relevant art that the present invention has broadutility and application. Other embodiments may be discussed foradditional illustrative purposes in providing a full and enablingdisclosure of the present invention. Moreover many embodiments such asadaptations, variations, modifications, and equivalent arrangements willbe implicitly disclosed by the embodiments described herein and fallwithin the scope of the present invention.

Accordingly, while the present invention is described herein in detailin relation to one or more embodiments, it is to be understood that thisdisclosure is illustrative and exemplary of the present invention, andis made merely for the purposes of providing a full and enablingdisclosure of the present invention. The detailed disclosure herein ofone or more embodiments is not intended, nor is to be construed to limitthe scope of patent protection afforded by the present invention, whichscope is to be defined by the claims and the equivalents thereof. It isnot intended that the scope of patent protection afforded the presentinvention be defined by reading into any claim a limitation found hereinthat does not explicitly appear in the claim itself.

Thus for example any sequence(s) and/or temporal order of steps ofvarious processes or methods that are described herein are illustrativeand should not be interpreted as being restrictive. Accordingly, itshould be understood that although steps of various processes or methodsmay be shown and described as being in a sequence or temporal order, thesteps of any such processes or methods are not limited to being carriedout in any particular sequence or order, absent an indication otherwise.Indeed, the steps in such processes or methods generally may be carriedout in various different sequences and orders, while still fallingwithin the scope of the present invention. Accordingly, it is intendedthat the scope of patent protection afforded the present invention is tobe defined by the appended claims rather than the description set forthherein.

Additionally it is important to note that each term used herein refersto that which the ordinary artisan would understand such term to meanbased on the contextual use of such term herein. To the extent that themeaning of a term used herein as understood by the ordinary artisanbased on the contextual use of such term differs in any way from anyparticular dictionary definition of such term, it is intended that themeaning of the term as understood by the ordinary artisan will prevail.

The following definitions generally set forth the parameters of thepresent invention.

As used herein, “a” and “an” each generally denotes “at least one” butdoes not exclude a plurality unless the contextual use clearly dictatesotherwise.

As used herein, the singular form “a”, “and”, and “the” include pluralreferents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

Now generally referring to the drawings in which like numerals representlike components throughout the several views, the preferred embodimentsof the present invention are next described. The following descriptionof one or more preferred embodiment(s) is merely exemplary in nature andis in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

FIG. 1 depicts an embodiment of the present invention, which is anexemplary schematic interface 110 representation of the OST application(overlay application) installed on a mobile device 102. The mobiledevice 102 may include but not limited to iPhones, Android-basedsmartphones, PDAs, tablets, near-field communication devices, deviceswith applications implemented at least partly using a cloud service andany other complementary and equivalent devices that are capable of voiceand data transmission including personal messaging. It is understoodthat the configuration of the interface 110 is exemplary and that theinterface 110 may include alternative and additional functional andaesthetic features. Although reference to the interface 110 is made withrespect to the mobile device 102, it is understood that the interface110 is useful with any mobile device and that any discussion herein withrespect to the mobile device 102 is made for the exemplary purpose andshould not serve to limit any features disclosed herein.

As demonstrated in FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 3, one preferred embodiment ofthe OST application (overlay application) for deleting and recalling anunwanted Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) or Short Messaging Services(SMS) message on a mobile device 102 before the message is delivered tothe intended recipient is contemplated. The OST application operates byrunning on top of a resident messaging application on the mobile device102 and delaying the delivery of a message composed on the residentmessaging application to the recipient for a predetermined amount oftime set by the user of the mobile device. The resident messageapplication may be an onboard or default SMS/MMS application that ispre-installed on the mobile device during manufacture and assembly, aSMS/MMS application that is subsequently installed on the mobile deviceby the user to override or replace the default SMS/MMS application (suchas Handcent, chomp, Textra etc.), or any other application on the mobiledevice that can transmit text and media messages (such as WeChat, What'sApp, Line, Facebook Messenger, G-Chat, Facebook Messenger, Snapchatetc.).

FIGS. 1, 2A, 2B, and 3 also depict a hypothetical scenario where a user104 having the OST application (overlay application) installed on themobile device 102 is communicating with another person 106. The OSTapplication provides a maneuverable OST button 108 which may be used toindicate delay and used by the user 104 to delete or recall a message.The maneuverable OST button 108 may start by appearing adjacent to abezel of the mobile device 102 when there is no message being delayed bythe OST application as shown in FIG. 1 (initial position of themaneuverable OST button 108). When the user 104 composes a message onthe resident messaging application and sends the composed message byclicking the “send” button on the resident messaging application, thelength of the message extends the maneuverable OST button 108 towardanother bezel of the mobile device 102 as shown in FIG. 2A (extendedposition of the maneuverable OST button 108). Because the OSTapplication operates on top of the resident messaging application, theOST application delays (or prevents) the delivery of the message for thepredetermined amount of time set by the user 104, even though the userhas already pressed the “send” button of the resident messagingapplication. During the predetermined amount of time, the message iscached in a buffer for an amount of time set by the user 104 on the OSTapplication. The predetermined amount of time is preferably between 0and 60 seconds. The buffer may be a software buffer built into the OSTapplication or a memory on the mobile device being utilized by the OSTapplication. As such, the delay feature of the OST application does notinvolve or require storing any data on any servers or devices (such asrouters and modems) on the telecommunication network (such as Wi-Fi,802.11, Bluetooth, radio frequency systems, VOIP, infrared, GSM, GSMplus EDGE, CDMA, quadband protocols) to cache the message. Since thepredetermined amount of time is set by the user and it operatesindependently of the servers and devices on the telecommunication (orsolely on the mobile device 102), the delay provided by the OSTapplication is beyond the inherent delay associated with the hardwareand software on the mobile device 102 and the inherent delay associatedwith the software of the OST application for performing their basicfunctions such as but not limited to the time needed to turn on or offof a hardware component, the time needed to start or shut down anoperating system, the time needed to transmit data between hardwarecomponents, etc.

The OST application may have a counter or timer showing how much time ofthe predetermined amount of time is left before the message is deliveredto the recipient. The counter or timer may appear within, adjacent to,or away from the maneuverable OST button 108. The counter or timer mayalso appear in the notification bar where the current time, the mobiledevice signal strength, and the battery level are located. The OSTapplication may further have a status indicator showing that the messageis pending after hitting the “send” button. The status indicator mayalso appear within, adjacent to, or away from the maneuverable OSTbutton 108 or in the notification bar. The counter or timer may alsoappear as a gradient on the text of the message, the background of themessage, or both the text and background of the message. For example,the text, background, or both may appear in a first color, such asorange, after the user hit the “send” button with a gradient movingacross the text, background, or both. The amount of time the gradientmoves across the text, background, or both is equivalent to thepredetermined amount of time set by the user. FIG. 8 shows oneembodiment of a gradient counter or timer 377 moving across both thetext and background of the message. When the predetermined amount oftime is up, the OST application allows the resident messagingapplication to deliver the message to the recipient. The statusindicator would also change the status of the message from pending todelivered. The counter or timer in the form of a gradient may brieflyturn into a second color, such as green, and then fade into a thirdcolor, such as light gray, indicating that the message is beyond deleteor recall. In one embodiment, when the sent message is cached during thepredetermined amount of time, the cached message remains visible to theuser with the counter during the predetermined amount of time (for alimited amount of time). After the predetermined amount of time expires,and if the user does not delete or recall the cached message during thepredetermined amount of time, the cached message will be delivered tothe recipient and the delivered message will be moved to and stored in adelivered queue without showing the counter for later viewing by theuser.

During the delay or the predetermined amount of time, the user 104 mayeither delete or recall the message he or she sent. To delete the sentmessage, the user 104 may scroll or swipe the maneuverable OST button108 from left to right or from its extended position to its initialposition as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In other words, the user 104swipes the maneuverable OST button 108 on the sent message to the rightto delete the sent message. To recall the sent message, the user 104 mayfurther scroll or swipe the maneuverable OST button 108 to the left fromits extended position as shown in FIG. 3 (further extended position ofthe maneuverable OST button 108). In other words, the user 104 swipesthe maneuverable OST button 108 on the sent message to the left torecall the sent message. Delete erases the entire sent message and theuser 104 retypes another message from scratch if he or she wishes tosend another message. Recall retrieves the entire sent message forcorrecting typographical errors and/or further editing the messagewithout erasing any content in the message. If the user 104 does notswipe the maneuverable OST button 108 during the predetermined amount oftime, the sent message will be delivered to the recipient after thepredetermined amount of time expires.

The OST button 108 is maneuverable because it can be moved by a fingeror fingers of the user 104 in different directions on screen of themobile device or on the conservation screen of the resident messagingapplication. Although maneuvering or swiping the OST button 108 to theright is associated with deleting the message and maneuvering or swipingthe OST button 108 to the left is associated with recalling the messagein the above embodiment, deleting and recalling the message may beassociated with other maneuvering methods or directions. Othermaneuvering methods include number of taps, number of swipes, number offingers simultaneously pressing on the OST button 108, etc. Othermaneuvering directions include up and down and certain patterneddirections (such as a zigzag pattern). In one embodiment, the messagemay be deleted by performing a first maneuvering method/direction andthe message may be recalled by performing a second maneuveringmethod/direction different from the first maneuvering method/direction.

Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the OST application (overlay application)may further have a “curfew” feature. The “curfew” feature allows theuser to set another predetermined amount of time during which the sentmessage is embargoed and after which the embargoed sent message isdelivered only if the user confirms delivering the embargoed sentmessage to the recipient. Unlike the delay/delete/recall featuresdescribed above, the “curfew” feature does not automatically deliver themessage to the recipient after the another predetermined amount of timeexpires. Instead it always asks the user to confirm if he or she reallywants to deliver the message after the another predetermined amount oftime expires. The another predetermined amount of time is preferablylonger than the predetermined amount of time. For example, the userturns on the “curfew” feature and sets the another predetermined amountof time to be 24 hours. The user composes a message and sends it byhitting the “send” button. The sent message is subsequently embargoed orcached in a curfew queue for 24 hours (FIG. 4) and the OST applicationwill automatically ask the user if he or she wants to deliver themessage that he or she composed 24 hours ago after the anotherpredetermined amount of time expires (FIG. 5). If the user responds withyes, the message will then be delivered to the recipient. If the usersresponds with no, the message will not be delivered to the recipient.The “curfew” feature may apply to one message, some messages, or all themessages composed by the user. When the “curfew” feature is set to applyto some or all of the messages, the user can review some or all of theembargoed messages and decide which embargoed messages should bedelivered and which one should not be delivered after the anotherpredetermined amount of time of some or all of the messages haveexpired. For example, the user sets the another predetermined amount oftime to be 24 hours and the user sends a message at 9:00 a.m. on Monday,a second message at 10:00 a.m. on the same Monday, and a third messageat 11:00 a.m. on the same Monday, the user will be able to go throughall three messages and decide which of the message that he or sheactually wants to be delivered to the recipient when he or she checksthe OST application at 11:00 a.m. or later on Tuesday. If the userchecks the OST application between 10:00 a.m. and 10:59 a.m. on the sameTuesday, the user will be able to go through the first and secondmessage and decide which of those message that he or she actually wantsto be delivered to the recipient. The OST application may also have theoption to deliver the sent message before the another predeterminedamount of time expires. The user may allow delivery of the sent messagebefore the predetermined amount of time expires by swiping or tappingthe sent message (FIG. 4). Swiping or tapping the sent message prompts aconfirmation window 120 asking the user if he or she really wants tosend (or deliver) the embargoed message (FIG. 5). The user may respondwith yes to send or deliver the embargoed message before the anotherpredetermined amount of time is up. The user may also respond with no tocontinue embargoing the message. The curfewed or embargoed message maybe designated with a color different from the delayed message describedabove such as orange to distinguish those two types of messages.

In another embodiment of the “curfew” feature, the user may set up aparticular time during which all messages sent on the resident messagingapplication are held in the curfew queue until the allotted time is up(FIG. 4). The user then can choose to deliver to delete some or all ofmessages sent during the particular time. For example, the user may setup the particular time to be from 10:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. All themessages sent on the resident messaging application during that periodof time would be held in the curfew queue. The user would be able toselect which messages he or she wants to deliver or delete starting at5:00 a.m. The held message may also be sent or delivered before theallotted time is up as described above by swiping or tapping the heldmessage to prompt a confirmation window.

The “curfew” feature also preferably has a locator such as one using GPSlocation information from the mobile device or using other sources. TheGPS locator has a function of alerting the OST application to send anotification asking the user 104 if he or she would like to turn on the“curfew” feature when the GPS locator senses that the user 104 has spenta time longer than a certain period of time somewhere such as at a bar.

In one embodiment of the “curfew” feature, the “curfew” feature may alsoappear with a counter or timer. When the sent message is embargoedduring the another predetermined amount of time, the embargoed messagemay remain visible to the user with the counter during the otherpredetermined amount of time (for a limited amount of time). After theanother predetermined amount of time expires, and the user confirmsdelivery of the sent message, the embargoed message will be delivered tothe recipient and the delivered message will be moved to and stored in adelivered queue without showing the counter for later viewing by theuser. The status of the message may also be changed from pending todelivered if there is a status indicator.

Referring to FIG. 6, one embodiment of the mobile device 202 (or 102 inFIGS. 1-5) is illustrated. In a preferred embodiment, the mobile device202 comprises a display 210, a buffer 220, an input/out (I/O) circuitry240, a control circuitry 260, and a communications circuitry 280. Asappreciated by those skilled in the art, the mobile device 202 caninclude other components not combined or included in those shown in thisfigure, e.g., a power supply, an input mechanism, etc.

Display 210 includes the display and display circuitry for providing adisplay visible to the user. For example, the display circuitry caninclude a screen, e.g., an LCD screen that is incorporated in the mobiledevice 202. In some embodiments, the display circuitry can include acoder/decoder (Codec) to convert digital data into analog signals andvice versa. For example, the display circuitry or other appropriatecircuitry within the mobile device 202 can include Codecs necessary toprocess the transaction orders and the transaction execution time, orany other suitable type of Codec.

Buffer 220 can include, for example, one or more tangible computerstorage devices including a hard-drive, solid state drive, flash memory,permanent memory such as ROM, magnetic, optical, semiconductor, or anyother suitable type of storage component, or any combination thereof.Buffer can store or cache, for example, the delayed and embargoedmessages, applications and application data for implementing functionson the mobile device 220, wireless connection data that can enable themobile device 202 to establish a wireless connection, and any othersuitable data or any combination thereof. The instructions forimplementing the functions of the present invention may, as non-limitingexamples, comprise non transient software and/or scripts stored in thecomputer-readable media 220. Buffer 220 may also be a semi-permanentmemory such as RAM, and/or one or more types of memory used fortemporarily storing data. In some embodiments, buffer 220 can also beused for storing data to operate mobile device applications or any otherdata from other components in the mobile device 220 such as display 210,input/out circuitry 240, control circuitry 260, and communicationscircuitry 280.

I/O circuitry 240 can be operative to convert and encode/decode, analogsignals and other signals into digital data. In some embodiments, I/Ocircuitry 240 can also convert digital data into another type of signal,and vice-versa. For example, I/O circuitry 330 can receive and convertphysical contact inputs from a multi-touch screen such as display 210,physical movements from a mouse or sensor, analog audio signals from amicrophone, or other input. The digital data can be provided to andreceived from buffer 220, control circuitry 260, or any other componentof the mobile device 202. Although I/O circuitry 240 is illustrated inthis figure as a single component of the mobile device 202, severalinstances of I/O circuitry 240 can be included in the mobile device 202.The mobile device 202 can include any suitable interface or componentfor allowing a user to provide inputs to I/O circuitry 240. For example,the mobile device 202 can include a touch screen, e.g., display 210, abutton, a keypad, a dial, a click wheel, etc.

Control circuitry 260 can include any processing circuitry or processoroperative to control the operations and performance of the mobile device202. For example, control circuitry 260 can be used to run operatingsystem applications, firmware applications, or other applications usedto communicate with other mobile devices, telecommunication servers,routers, or modems. Control circuitry 260 can drive the display 210 andprocess inputs received from a user interface, e.g., the display 210 ifit is a touch screen.

Communications circuitry 280 can include any suitable communicationscircuitry operative to connect to a telecommunication network and totransmit communications, e.g., data from the mobile device to othermobile devices, servers, routers, modems, or computers. Communicationscircuitry 280 can be operative to interface with a telecommunicationnetwork using any suitable communications protocol such as Wi-Fi,802.11, Bluetooth, radio frequency systems such as 900 MHz, 1.4 GHz, and5.6 GHz communication systems, infrared, GSM, GSM plus EDGE, CDMA,quadband, and other cellular protocols, VOIP, or any other suitableprotocol. The communications network may also be established by usingwires such as an optical fiber or Ethernet cable. The mobile device caninclude one or more instances of communications circuitry 280 forsimultaneously performing several communications operations usingdifferent telecommunication networks, although only one instance ofcommunications circuitry 280 is shown in FIG. 6 to avoidovercomplicating the drawing. For example, the mobile device 101 caninclude a first instance of communications circuitry 280 forcommunicating over a cellular network, a second instance ofcommunications circuitry 280 for communicating over Wi-Fi or usingBluetooth, and a third instance of communications circuitry 280 forcommunicating over an optical fiber. In some embodiments, the sameinstance of communications circuitry 280 can be operative to provide forcommunications over several telecommunication networks.

FIGS. 7A-7G depict one embodiment of the OST application integrating andcommunicating with contacts from different chat platforms. Referring toFIG. 7A, the OST application may start by confirming the phone number ofthe mobile device when the OST application is initiated for the firsttime after the installation of the OST application. After confirmation,the OST application detects all the chat platforms installed on themobile device and asks the user of the mobile device to select whichchat platforms he or she wants to be associated with the OST applicationor to be overlaid by the OST application as shown in FIG. 7B. Afterselection, the OST application affirms the selection with an affirmationmessage as shown in FIG. 7C.

Referring to FIG. 7D, an interface 300 of the OST application is shown.The interface 300 may have a first window 305 for displaying integratedcontacts 385, conversations between the user and the contacts 390, andsettings of the OST application 395. FIG. 7D shows the first window 305displaying all the integrated contacts 385 gathered from the chatplatforms the user selected, such as contacts 310 from What's App,contacts 315 from Facebook Messenger, and contacts 320 from the defaultSMS/MMS application (integrated contacts view). The first window 305 maymark the contacts 325 who sent messages that have not yet being read bythe user (unread messages) with an indicator 330, such as an orange dot,next to their names. The interface 300 may also have a second window 350for searching a contact among all the contacts gathered 355 and foradding additional contacts to the OST application 360. The interface 300may further have a third window 380 for switching views between the viewof integrated contacts 385 (“contacts”), the view of conversationsbetween the user and the contacts 390 (“conversations”), and the view ofthe settings of the OST application 395 (“settings”) on the first window305. FIG. 7E shows when the user selects “conversations” 390 and thefirst window 305 displays all conversations between the user and thecontacts (conversations view). FIG. 7F shows the content of a particularconversation 330 between the user and a contact after the user selectsthat particular conversation 330 from all displayed conversations forfurther viewing. FIG. 7G shows, when the user selects “settings” 395,the first window 305 displays the applications or chat platforms 335that are connected to the OST application, the grace period or thepredetermined amount of time 340 set by the user, and the curfew feature345 turned on or off by the user (settings view).

Based on FIGS. 7A-7G and the corresponding descriptions, the user of theOST application will be able to converse with his or her contacts on theOST application and on some or all of the different chat platforms onthe mobile device. The OST application can integrate the user's accountsfrom some or all of the different chat platforms by signing into thosechat platforms through the OST application (or by connecting the OSTapplication to the application program interfaces, APIs, of those chatplatforms). When a user receives a message from a contact from a chatplatform, the user may respond to that message by sending a message onthe OST application. The sent message may be delayed, deleted, recalled,or embargoed via the OST application if necessary. The contact willreceive the responding message in the same chat platform from which thecontact sent the message to the user. As such, in one embodiment, theOST application serves as one-stop destination for all the messagingcommunications and the user will be able to converse with all of his orher contacts from all of the different chat platforms from one place.

As shown above, the system and method is particularly suited andapplicable to text messaging (SMS/MMS message over telephone networks).The OST application may also integrate contacts from other groupmessaging, chatting and instant messaging compatibility andcommunication applications and platforms. Those applications andplatforms include but not limited to Handcent, chomp, Textra, WeChat,What's App, Line, Facebook Messenger, G-Chat, Facebook Messenger,Snapchat, etc. The OST application processes all the messages sent onthe resident messaging application and creates a delay without relyingon any servers or devices on the telecommunications network. The createddelay is solely provided by the OST application and/or the mobile deviceon which the OST application is installed.

Although the present invention has been described and illustrated hereinwith referred to preferred embodiments, it will be apparent to those ofordinary skill in the art that other embodiments may perform similarfunctions and/or achieve like results. Thus it should be understood thatvarious features and aspects of the disclosed of the disclosedembodiments can be combined with, or substituted for one another inorder to form varying modes of the disclosed invention.

Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used hereinhave same meaning as commonly understood by the person of ordinary skillin the art to which this invention belongs. Thus the scope of theembodiments of the present invention should be determined by theappended claims and their legal equivalents rather than by the Figures.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for message communication management ofpersonal mobile wireless devices by using an interactive mobile softwareapplication comprising: implementing the interactive mobile softwareapplication on a personal mobile wireless device, wherein theapplication implements a process comprising: providing an interactiveuser interface on the device for entering and sending messages; and inresponse to the user entering a message and sending the entered message,holding the entered message back from being sent from the personalmobile wireless device and over a communication network for apredetermined period of time that permits the user to recall or deletethe message before it is transmitted over the communication network, andimplementing a curfew setting, wherein the curfew setting comprises alocator in which the locator alerts the mobile software application soas to send a notification to turn on the curfew settings if the locatornotices that the user has spent longer than a predetermined amount oftime in a location, wherein the locator receives location informationfrom a GPS or other sources.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein themobile software application is a mobile software application that isinstalled over a message communication application that receives andtransmits messages.
 3. The method based claim 1, wherein the interactivemobile software application is particularly implemented so as to manageSMS, instant messaging, and MMS messaging on the mobile wireless device.4. The method based on claim 1, wherein the interactive mobile softwareapplication is an application that is installed by the user and theinstallation makes the interactive mobile software application thedefault application for messaging and replying an existing SMS/MMSmessaging application.
 5. The method based on claim 1, wherein theinteractive mobile software application holds the message in a bufferbefore sending.
 6. The method based on claim 1, wherein the interactivemobile software application displays the message in the window to theuser as if it has been sent but with designation to show it is beingheld back.
 7. A system for message communication management of personalmobile wireless devices comprising: a mobile software applicationinstalled on a mobile wireless device, the application comprising aninteractive user interface on the mobile wireless device for enteringand sending messages; and a buffer, in response to a user entering amessage and sending the entered message, holding the entered messageback from being sent from the mobile wireless device and over acommunication network for a predetermined period of time that permitsthe user to recall or delete the message before it is transmitted overthe communication network wherein the mobile software applicationincludes a curfew setting comprising a locator in which the locatoralerts the mobile software application so as to send a notification toturn on the curfew settings if the locator notices that the user hasspent longer than a predetermined amount of time in a location, whereinthe locator receives location information from a GPS or other sources.8. The system of claim 7, wherein the interactive mobile softwareapplication is particularly implemented so as to manage SMS, instantmessaging, and MMS messaging on the mobile wireless device.
 9. Thesystem of claim 7, wherein the interactive mobile software applicationis an application that is installed by the user and the installationmakes the interactive mobile software application the defaultapplication for messaging and replying an existing SMS/MMS messagingapplication.
 10. The system of claim 7, wherein the interactive mobilesoftware application holds the message in a buffer before sending.
 11. Anon-transitory computer readable medium storing an application causing acomputer to execute message delay process, the message delay processcomprising: receiving an entered message from an interactive mobilesoftware application installed on a personal mobile wireless device; inresponse to a user sending the entered message, holding the enteredmessage back from being sent from the personal mobile wireless deviceand over a communication network for a predetermined period of time thatpermits the user to recall or delete the message before it istransmitted over the communication network; and implementing a curfewsetting, wherein the curfew setting comprises a locator in which thelocator alerts the mobile software application so as to send anotification to turn on the curfew settings if the locator notices thatthe user has spent longer than a predetermined amount of time in alocation, wherein the locator receives location information from a GPSor other sources.
 12. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 11, wherein the process further comprising displaying the messagein a window to the user as if it has been sent but with designation toshow it is being held back.
 13. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 11, wherein the application is installed by the user andthe installation makes the interactive mobile software application thedefault application for messaging and replying an existing SMS/MMSmessaging application.
 14. A system for message communication managementof personal mobile wireless devices comprising: a mobile softwareapplication on a personal mobile wireless device, wherein theapplication comprising integrated contacts comprising contacts gatheredfrom different chat platforms, a predetermined amount of time set by auser of the personal mobile wireless device to delay a message sent onthe mobile software application and to delete or recall the sent messageduring the predetermined amount of time, and another predeterminedamount of time set by the user to delay the sent message and to confirmdelivery of the sent message to a recipient after the anotherpredetermined amount of time expires, wherein the mobile applicationcomprises a locator in which the locator alerts the mobile softwareapplication so as to send a notification to turn on the curfew settingsif the locator notices that the user has spent longer than apredetermined amount of time in a location, wherein the locator receiveslocation information from a GPS or other sources.
 15. The system ofclaim 14, wherein the mobile software application is particularlyimplemented so as to manage SMS and MMS messaging on the mobile wirelessdevice.
 16. The system of claim 14, wherein the mobile softwareapplication is an application that is installed by the user and theinstallation makes the interactive mobile software application thedefault application for messaging and replying an existing SMS/MMSmessaging application.
 17. The system of claim 14, wherein the mobilesoftware application holds the message in a buffer before sending. 18.The system of 14, wherein the mobile software application displays themessage in a window to the user as if it has been sent but withdesignation to show it is being held back.